Inviting Applications and Nominations Executive Vice President and Provostexecutive search

Read the WT 125: From the Panhandle

to the World plan

The Institution and Its Plan West Texas A&M University (WT)serves as the principal academic and cultural center of a multi-state region and is a significant catalyst for economic development through education, research, and service. WT enrolls more than 10,000 students, of which approximately 75 percent are undergraduates. Almost half of the undergraduates are first-generation college students; 25 percent are Hispanic; and 5 percent are African American. Though more than half of the University’s student population is from the Texas Panhandle, students represent about 40 percent of the states across the nation and almost 40 percent of other countries around the world.

For the last three consecutive years, WT has been ranked in the top tier of the “Best Regional Public Universities in the West” by U.S. News and World Report. WT also has been recognized as one of the “Best in the West” by The Princeton Review and designated as a Military-Friendly University and a Hispanic-Serving Institution.

There are few universities focused on the needs of small communities widely dispersed over a large geographical area, such as WT. Since its founding in 1909, the University has been committed fully to understanding the aspirations of the young people in rural communities and appreciating their view of the future

and to being responsive to those needs through academic purpose and service.

The University seeks to attain doctoral status, and in so doing, receive a designation that currently does not exist—a regional research university. This designation will enable the faculty and students to focus on solving the complex and demanding problems and challenges associated with the constellation of many small communities served by a single metropolitan area. WT aspires to stand alone as an institution with a distinctive understanding of the needs of rural communities in pursuits related to agriculture, economic development, education, engineering, healthcare, and social and cultural progress.

Coupled with these ideas is the paramount importance of WT growing its upper-division and graduate enrollment, utilizing the power of distance education in reaching students interested in its offerings, and the centrality of transfer students in serving its region, state, and nation.

In February 2019, the University debuted its generational plan titled WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World. Developed through the collaboration of a taskforce committee of more than 300 people, the plan preserves the origins

West Texas A&M University, a public comprehensive regional university located in the Panhandle of Texas and a member of The Texas A&M University System, seeks a dynamic, transformational academic leader to serve as Executive Vice President and Provost. The Executive Vice President and Provost (EVPP) is the chief academic officer and also holds the secondary leadership and management role for the University. Applications and nominations are being accepted. The preferred start date for the position is January 2020.

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Executive Vice President and Provost

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For more information on West Texas A&M University, visit www.wtamu.edu.

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Position Description The Executive Vice President and Provost at WT reports directly to President Walter V. Wendler and serves on the president’s leadership team. Foremost, this position represents Academic Affairs; thereby, the EVPP is the chief academic officer of the University. Additionally, the EVPP is second in command of the leadership and management functions of the entire University.

As job one, this executive officer must be simultaneously committed to both academic excellence and operational efficiencies in rigorously insightful ways to the mission of WT. The EVPP also is

of WT’s values and illustrates the vision of the institution to achieve doctoral status by its 125th anniversary in 2035. Becoming a regional research university supports WT’s perpetual mission to provide an accessible, quality education to the Texas Panhandle and beyond.

WT is currently in the planning phase of a comprehensive capital campaign to raise $200 million to support the mission of the University and propel the vision of its generational plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World. The campaign will focus on people, programs, and places with top priority given to securing funding for students, faculty, and both existing and new programs.

One of the keys to the achievement of this comprehensive plan is the EVPP. Working hand-in-hand with The Texas A&M University Board of Regents, the president, administrators, faculty, staff, and students, the EVPP will advance WT to accomplish this challenging goal.

The goal of this search is to have a new EVPP on campus and regularly working in transition with the current provost of WT, Dr. Wade Shaffer, by January 2020. Dr. Shaffer has been an effective contributor to academic excellence and a sure-handed academic leader who will provide a semester of teamwork with the EVPP before returning to a faculty position and his passion of teaching history.

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Walter V. WendlerPresident of West Texas A&M University

Dr. Wendler has served as president of West Texas A&M since 2016. He joined the University after 15 years at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he was chancellor from 2001-2007. During his tenure, research productivity increased by 65 percent. He later returned to teaching architecture and retired as director of the School of Architecture at SIU at the end of 2015.

Before joining SIU, Dr. Wendler served as vice chancellor for Planning and System Integration at The Texas A&M University

System. He previously had served as executive assistant to the president, dean of the College of Architecture, and other administrative and faculty roles at Texas A&M University in College Station.

The New York native earned an associate degree from the State University of New York at Farmingdale and a bachelor’s degree in environmental design from Texas A&M University. He received his master’s degree in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.

entrusted to work with and through the vice presidents of each responsibility area to meet the aspirations of the University.

To accomplish the responsibilities of the position, the EVPP must have the full confidence of the president and the WT leadership team in every aspect of university life.

To succeed in this executive role, the EVPP must:

I. Embrace the presuppositions of WT125: From the Panhandle to the World. These include citizenship, the value of work, the primacy of place, service to the Texas Panhandle, and the development and appreciation for a moral perspective. Partnerships that address issues, such as the importance of arts and humanities in rural America, the centrality of agriculture, elementary and secondary education in rural settings, strong enterprise, rural healthcare, and water and energy, are critical. The EVPP should value and appreciate WT’s institutional and regional

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Old Main - Houses the Administrative Offices

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Agricultural Sciences Complex

commitment to these issues as they are its future as a regional research university.

II. Evaluate the Academic Landscape.The EVPP must understand WT’s various peer institutions and their importance in measuring progress to the future of West Texas as described in WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World. The measurement of progress in attaining leadership status relative to all of its peers in various areas is critical.

The EVPP will lead the evaluation and measure of the University’s progress and stay abreast of the trends and changes impacting WT’s peer institutions and beyond.

III. Embrace the maxims outlined in WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

These include • Serving the Texas Panhandle.• Embracing the importance

of transfer admissions, enrollment and engagement, and undergraduate academic excellence as defined by an effective core curriculum that is responsive to a changing world, but reflective of Western Texas traditions.

• Providing students the opportunity to gain workplace skills, enabling them to earn a living and repay educational debt.

• Developing graduate programs based on regional needs.

• Valuing the on-campus living experience for all students.

• Efficiently utilizing resources.• Appreciating the importance of

intellectual resources in the fullest sense of the word.

• Engaging and empowering human capital.

• Creating locally-responsive research and infrastructure.

• Most importantly, purposefully leading and governing the University to attain the aspirations outlined in WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

IV. Advocate intellectual and achievement growth for all associated with WT. This includes faculty activities and concerns, student well-being, fiscal responsibility and effectiveness, multidisciplinary scholarship, and accrediting attainment and excellence, all of which are part of the EVPP’s purview. Leadership and adroit management of resources, both human and material, are expected as progress toward the goals of WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

Additionally, the EVPP will have direct organizational authority over the following areas of WT:

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost

• Cornette Library• External Programming• Honors Program• Faculty Senate

Executive Vice President and Provost

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• Nationally Competitive Scholarships

• Institutional Research and Effectiveness

Colleges and Schools• Paul Engler College of Agriculture

and Natural Sciences• Paul and Virginia Engler College of

Business• College of Education and Social

Sciences• College of Nursing and Health

Sciences• School of Engineering, Computer

Science and Mathematics• Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine

Arts and Humanities s School of Music

Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center • Speech and Hearing Clinic• Center for Learning Disabilities• Small Business Development Center• Panhandle Area Health Education

Center

QualificationsEducationCandidate must have a doctorate or equivalent background. ExperienceAcademic experience and other expertise that would allow an appointment to the rank of professor, including teaching, scholarly, and creative accomplishments, in addition to university leadership and management experience are essential. Remarkable strength in any single area could compensate for a lack of experience in other areas.

Experience from serving in progressively responsible leadership roles and management engagements is important. This should include, but is not limited to, leadership experience in university life at a dean’s-level position or above.

All related work experience is important, including strategic planning, policy development to ensure academic excellence, and a demonstrated commitment to the aspirations of a forward-looking university vision, such as WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

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Mission StatementWest Texas A&M University

West Texas A&M University is a diverse and inclusive student-centered community of learners that:

• provides a technology-rich, academically-rigorous educational experience at the undergraduate and graduate levels;

• cultivates opportunities to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, information literacy, and ethical behavior;

• directs resources in support of empowering co-curricular experiences;

• maintains focus on the development of future leaders for our community, the state, the nation, and the world; and

• serves through education, research, and consultation as a catalyst for economic development and enhancement of the quality of life for the region.

In addition, an appreciation for shared governance, an understanding of accrediting processes at the national and regional level, and a commitment to diversity in every aspect of university life are essential. This would include, but is not limited to, the leadership and management of personnel, faculty, staff, and students.

InvolvementTo lead an aspiring regional research university, as defined in WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World, a willingness to engage with, respond to, and enrich the quality of Texas Panhandle community life is essential.

Breaking New GroundThe intention at WT is to create a distinct institution unique to the state, nation, and world. As the nature of this aspiration is unique, it is not anticipated that a candidate would have experience at such an institution. Rather, the candidate would need the experience at innovative institutions that engage their various constituencies successfully with new ideas in collaborative and community-involving ways.

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Executive Vice President and Provost

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West Texas A&M UniversityWest Texas A&M University is a member of The Texas A&M University System and is located at the heart of the Texas Panhandle in Canyon. Since 1910, the University has served the top 26 counties of the state.

The campus in Canyon, Texas, spans 342 acres and includes 61 buildings in addition to a major event center, enterprise network, wind turbine test facility, 80-acre Horse Center, and the 2,310-acre Nance Ranch. The University has spent more than $95 million in capital improvements over the past 10 years.

In addition to the campus in Canyon, the University offers classes at its Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Centerr, completed in 2018. Located in downtown Amarillo, approximately 12 miles from Canyon, the newly renovated building houses the Center for Learning Disabilities, Speech and Hearing Clinic, Panhandle Area Health Education Center, Small Business Development Center, Licensed Professional Counseling, social work program, psychology

program, special education program, and instructional technology program, along with offices, classrooms, and a computer lab.

With a budget of more than $144 million, the University employs 333 full-time faculty members and 466 full-time staff members, all of whom are committed to every student’s success.

Students have a wide array of academic offerings with 60 undergraduate programs, 38 graduate programs, and two doctoral programs. The University is a leader in distance education, with most programs providing the option to be taken completely online.

The student-faculty ratio is 20:1, and more than a third of classes have fewer than 20 students. The undergraduate enrollment is 57 percent female. The average freshman retention rate is 65 percent. Of the undergraduate students, 26 percent live in university housing, with the other 74 percent living off campus.

The University is ranked competitively in national publications, such as U.S. News & World Report, which ranked WT #81 in Regional Universities West. The 2019 Princeton Review ranked the WT online MBA #24 on the listing of the Top 25 Online MBA programs in the world.

WT is a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers

Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center

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Application & Nomination ProcessConfidential inquiries and nominations are invited. This search seeks a diverse pool of candidates. People with disabilities, minorities, veterans, and women are encouraged to apply.

Application packet must include: a) Letter of interest b) Current resume/curriculum vitae c) At least five references with full contact and e-mail information (References will not be contacted without applicant’s consent.)Submit application packet (preferably as PDFs) to WT-EVPP@myersmcrae.com by October 21, 2019, for best consideration. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Submit nominations to WT-EVPP-nominate@myersmcrae.com with complete contact and e-mail information on the individual being nominated.

Emily Parker Myers, CEO, and Jennifer Barfield, Senior Vice President, of Myers McRae Executive Search and Consulting, are assisting West Texas A&M University with this search. Kenny Daugherty, President of Myers McRae, will provide assistance.

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West Texas A&M University is an equal opportunity affirmative-action employer, and we attend to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other categories of the human condition.

15 men’s and women’s programs. The University also offers a number of club sports, such as bowling and rodeo, that are extremely competitive on the national level.

Canyon and Amarillo, TexasThe University’s main campus is located in Canyon, just 15 minutes south of Amarillo. Canyon is a bustling community that has successfully combined a progressive attitude with small town friendliness. Selected as a Texas Main Street City in 2002, Canyon continues to grow and prosper.

With over 190,000 residents, Amarillo is the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A unique and history-area, the city is home to professional ballet, opera, symphony and theater companies as well as a Double-A minor-league baseball team.

The Texas Panhandle offers exciting outdoor activities as it is home to the second largest canyon in the country. Palo Duro Canyon offers camping, zip-lining, and horseback riding.

Along with quality public and private

schools, the city is served by a complex network of high-quality health systems. The area offers affordable housing with the cost of living below the national average. Additionally, Texas does not have a personal income tax.

City of Amarillo